Netflix planning London base

Netflix is reportedly set to open a London base in September that could impact the balance of power in the production industry between the US and the UK.

The site will be overseen by Diego Bunuel, former head of documentaries for Canal+, according to a Broadcast report.

Netflix is also planning to launch a separate post-production facility at another UK location.

Having a presence in London suggests that Netflix will be focussing more actively on European content, while also potentially hastening co-production deals between producers in the UK and other parts of the world, sources told Broadcast.

Emma Read is managing director of London production company Emporium Productions that made documentary series Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons for Netflix.

“For producers who have worked with Netflix before, Diego’s appointment opens up a different conversation with a different department and [suggests] Netflix does truly want global content,” said Read, in comments to Broadcast.

Netflix announced last year that it had spent $1.75bn on European content since 2012 and at the time said it was involved with 90 separate productions on the continent.

In the last few weeks the company said it would be spending around a billion dollars on original content in Europe in 2018.

The UK has long been established as one of Europe’s top production hubs, with London rivalling Los Angeles and Atlanta as a filming location for big-budget Hollywood studio shoots. A formal Netflix presence in London is a logical step for the California-based company.

Last September, Netflix announced that Netflix Canada would be established as its first non-US production company with a Canadian spending commitment of CA$500m over five years.

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